Ivy
by shadowfire67
Summary: Will, Halt, Horace, and Gilan go to Skandia to check on their archers. During their trip, the learn about Gilan's first and only apprentice. When they arrive at Skandia, the find out that an old, but threatening enemy is coming their way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Will and Tug rode into a clearing where he would meet his two best friends, Gilan and Halt. When he got there, he saw a rather pleased looking Gilan and a very wet Halt.

"What's wrong, Halt?" Will called out, rather amused," Did you fall into a lake or something?"

"No," Halt growled, looking unamused, glaring at his two grinning former apprentices.

"Abelard activated a trip wire that Gilan set up that dumped a few buckets of water on me."

Will snorted, "Looks more then a few buckets to me."

"Whatever." Halt rolled his eyes, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

Halt turned to Gilan. "Ivy wouldn't have let you do that, you know," he snapped, then immediately regretted those words.

Will had no idea who Ivy was but he could tell that it wasn't a subject that talked about in front of Gilan, as his face grew haggard and pale. Still, he couldn't help himself and asked who Ivy was. When no one answered, he decided it was a topic best to keep quiet.

As they rode through the Gathering Ground, Gilan's face got noticeably brighter, but you could still see some anguish in his face. When he left to get some water for his water skins, "Used it all up on Halt," He had said, and for their horses in a nearby stream. Will decided that it was a good time to ask Halt who Ivy was.

Apparently, it wasn't because all Halt would say was that she was Gilan's first and only apprentice. When Will pressed on, Halt told him to drop it. "Go find Crowley for something to take your mind off Ivy." Will obliged because he knew that Halt knew what was truly right for him, but he couldn't help still wondering who Ivy was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Really, Crowley!" Will cried, "Do I always get the first years?"

"Not always, it's just useful that we have such a famous youthful face around here." Nothing quite like one of them to show the apprentices the tricks of the trade." he said grinning. "It teaches them that even though their apprentices, you address everyone by name."

"You know Crowley, it was funny the first few times you've got apprentices addressing you as sir, but its not funny anymore."

"Really, why not?" he said, trying and failing to keep a straight face.

"Many reasons Crowley, many reasons," Will sighed,"Anyways, what do you want me to coach them on and there better not be the old tactical exercise your trying to besiege a castle set in a northern fief again."

"Don't worry Will, I want you to train them on shooting and yes, I do want you to give them a tactical exercise. Don't worry," he assured him when Will started to protest, "It's not the Macindaw one again. I made a newer one. And your right, the other one was getting old."

"Good. Well, where are they?" Will asked, happy.

"I sent them to the shooting range and told them to wait for their assessor."

"Okay. Also, did you tell them who their assessor was?"

"Nope, I just said that he was going to be close to their age."

"Good. Well, I'll be on my way."

"Right, and Will," Crowley said as Will turned to leave, " Watch out for bears."

When Will got to the shooting range, he saw Halt, Gilan, and a few other rangers competing for who could shoot the farthest arrows out of ten, but no one else. He asked them if any of them had seen the first years, but no one had.

He was pacing back and forth, wondering where the apprentices were when he heard Halt swear and Gilan shout in triumph. He turned around and saw Gilan jumping up and down and many of the other rangers applauding. _Apparently Gilan won the contest. That's a surprise. I would have bet my money on Halt if we were betting money._

But then he heard another noise. It was a deep rumble and nothing like the clapping or Gilan's victory hollers.

He nocked an arrow and swung his bow at the direction of the sound. He shouted at the other ranger's to warn them about the danger, but they were all too busy sulking or cheering.

Then he saw the creature's shape. It was a gigantic bear that was crashing through the forest and was going toward them. He knew from past experiences that shooting arrows at the bear had almost as little effect as shooting them at a boar or a kalkara, unless you were Halt, so the only option was to scare it. He knew that this was also very hard because it took a lot to scare a bear. Still, he decided, it was a lot easier then killing it.

Will fired his arrow at a tree near the bear, then fired two more also very close to it. He then threw his throwing knife two centimeters away from its neck. At the same time, he threw his saxe hilt first at the bear's middle. When the first knife hit the tree, it swung its head in surprise, but when the second knife hit its middle, the bear fell back in half.

This surprised Will because he knew his throw wasn't strong enough to snap a bear's back. In fact, as far as he knew, it was impossible to do what he did. Will remembered that along with the fact that the bear had fell back in two, it had also made a ripping noise like cloth getting torn in two.

He decided to invest this so-called bear because it was getting suspicious.

When he got there he saw two apprentices in a ripped bear suit. The apprentices were laughing, at him or at the joke he didn't know, but he knew it wasn't funny. It was only when the heard the laughing of the other rangers that he knew he was part of a big, practical joke.

He turned around to see all of the rangers on the ground, holding their sides, and laughing.

"It's not that funny you know," he yelled to the rangers on the ground.

"Yes it is," Gilan said, with a failed straight face, "You should have seen your face when you first saw the bear. It was so funny," which was all he could say before he dissolved into another fit of laughter.

"He's right you know," Crowley said, springing up from nowhere, "You should have seen your face. Isn't that right?" he called to unseen people. Suddenly, many green and brown cloaks appeared from nowhere.

Will sighed. He was very thankful of his own cloak because it hid his ever reddening face from everyone else.

"Great. Now you've invited almost everyone to make a laughingstock of me haven't you, Crowley."

Crowley nodded, unable to answer. "Oh, that was so funny. The look on your face when you first realized that the bear wasn't actually a bear. It was almost as funny as when you were given the silver oak leaf. Now _that_ was a sight to behold. Good job, Ron and Lance. You did a magnificent job. You'll just need to help me sew the bear suit. That was one of the best I've ever made."

"Wait a minute," Will shouted in surprise. "Does that mean that I'm not the first one you've played the joke on." Crowley shook his head.

"Then who else have you done it on?"

Crowley shrugged. "Almost everyone here. Halt's version of the joke was probably the best. We had Gilan dress up in the suit because he was Halt's apprentice at the time and we decided it would be fun to trick Halt into thinking he was being attacked by a bear. When he found out it was Gilan, he banned Gilan from coffee for a whole week after that. It was so funny," Crowley said, while pointing a finger at Gilan and Halt. He was rewarded by two death glares from them.

Come over here. Now, if Will Treaty has gotten over the fact that he was bested by two apprentices, I want you to go with him so he can perfect your archery."

Will groaned. This was something that was going to haunt for the rest of his life. Still, he couldn't help laughing. It was rather funny after all, even though he was the one everyone was laughing at.

"Sure Crowley, I would love to take them and show them the _not as funny _parts of being a ranger." He glared at Crowley, then looked at the boys who were standing next to him. They were still young, and youth was the time to have fun after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The gathering was over and Will, Halt, and Gilan were packing up to leave for their fiefs. Suddenly, someone tapped Will. He jerked back in surprise only to find Crowley standing behind him

"Honestly Crowley, you really need to make some noise when you approach someone. I almost jumped out of my skin in surprise."

"Sorry Will, I can't. It's part of my job. Anyways, I just received word from our good King Duncan. He wants the Special Task Group plus the Princess Cassandra as an Araluen delegation to go to Skandia and check on our archers," he turned to Gilan, "Looks like your going back to Redmont for awhile." When he saw Gilan's tortured face, he decided otherwise.

"On second thought, I think you should go to Skandia." As he turned away, you could here him muttering about how he hadn't foreseen this and how he had to find a new ranger for Redmont for a while until they returned.

"So much for his 'excellent planning'," Halt snorted.

When the trio got to Castle Araluen, they found Horace and Evelyn (Cassandra) waiting for them.

"Gosh Will, its been so long since I've last seen you. Honestly, is it just me or do you keep on getting smaller every time I see you."

Will grinned. "Trust me, Horace, its just you." Actually, Will had felt himself growing shorter each time he talked to Horace. These days, the only people he could compare his height to without feeling short were Halt and Malcolm. Even Gilan was taller then him.

As Horace turned to talk to Gilan, he found himself swept up by a pair of arms.

"Oh Will," the princess cried, "Its been so long since I've seen you. And Horace is right, you do get shorter every time we see you."

Just then, King Duncan intervened. "Now I know that this is just a diplomatic mission and nothing should go wrong," Halt rolled his eyes, "But if anything happens to Cassie, I will have your head for it."

Now Cassandra was rolling her eyes too. "Seriously dad, I can handle myself. I've got a sling. It saved them on their last diplomatic mission with me. Besides, as you said, it's 'just a diplomatic mission', what could go wrong?"

"Many things, Cassie. What if you run into another one of those war leaders in Gallica or Teutland?" King Duncan said, worried.

"That's why we have Horace, sir," Will said, grinning, "The Oakleaf Knight, remember. As long as he wears a tin suit and brings his pretty little shield, we'll be fine. And Cassandra can pretend to be Evelyn, until we get to Skandia. Right?" the princess nodded. "Besides, the Skandians love us, remember? We saved them from a horrible doom."

King Duncan nodded. It did make sense, and thanks to Horace's last trip to Skandia, he was now a legend. The knight who defeated Deperneiux. The knight with the oakleaf shield. The knight that showed mercy to others. "Very well," he said with a sigh, giving in, "But I'll still be worried about you the whole time your gone."

Cassandra sighed. There were somethings you could never change about a father. Being worried about their daughter was one of them. "Dad, I told you _I'll be fine._" She put an emphasis on the last three words. "Just whenever you think of me, think of Will, Horace, Halt, and Gilan and think of how I couldn't have a better escort or bodyguards."

Halt coughed. "I think bodyguards would be pushing it a bit. Let's just stick with escort for now."

"Fine," he said, defeated. Then turning to the rangers and Horace, "If I hear one complaint from Cassie during the trip, the price will be your heads," he threatened good-naturally. "Moving on, I think it is best that you five stay the night and head off tomorrow." When Halt tried to argue, Duncan said, "My daughter will be going soon and I won't see her for a few months. I want to spend one last day with her."

"Very well sir, I guess one last day before we leave won't bother us too much."

"Good, then it's decided. Horace, can you show Halt and Will to their rooms?" Duncan asked.

"Yes, your majesty."

As he turned to leave, "Oh, and Horace, there's going to be a council meeting with the Guard. I want you to attend. Just come to the main meeting room after you've finished escorting them."

"Yes, your majesty."

When Horace returned, he was immediately questioned by Halt.

"What was that about?" he asked suspiciously.

"Just the usual. What's going on in the kingdom. Are the taxes coming in. Should we maintain a bigger army or archers. Should we have another treaty with this country after it expires," he paused, then said, "He also asked if he should send another party of knights with our delegation." Halt laughed.

"What did they say?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"Well, half of them didn't even know about the delegation, but the ones that did were quick to assure him that the princess in the company of three rangers and a knight was all and even more then she needed."

"Well good, because the king was getting annoying and I really felt like throwing him in a moat. Problem is, throwing an annoying, good-for-nothing lord into a moat is one thing, doing that to the great king of Araluen is a completely different story.."

"Well good thing you did control your anger, for once, or else I'm pretty sure you would have been banished again and I don't think I could go with you this time."

"You know what Horace."

"What?"

"Your getting annoying."

"So?"

"So, I want you to go and do something else like raid the pantry and **STOP BOTHERING ME!"**

Horace sighed and left.

_Finally, something time to myself. Maybe I should go raid the pantry like I told Horace to. I wonder if they have any pies. Those sound good right now. Yes, I think I will go get some pies. Probably an apple for Abelard too._

And with that, he left.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, they bade farewell to a very remorse King Duncan.

"Remember Cassie," he called out, "I will be thinking about you the whole time your gone."

_Shut up dad. Your embarrassing me in front of everyone._

Will, Horace, and Gilan snickered softly. Sadly, it wasn't soft enough, as Cassandra whipped her head around at the noise.

"What was that?" she demanded.

"Nothing, Evelyn," Will said meekly, embarrassed.

"Good" She then whirled around to see the other two.

"What?' they asked innocently, in unison.

"Where's your apology? I heard Will's, now it's time for me to hear yours."

They sighed, but then said, "We apologize."

Even though she accepted their apology, she could tell by their faces that they didn't mean it.

After the first day of traveling, the group settled down in an inn. After Halt thoroughly inspected their room, which meant picking through the sheets to make sure they were clean, they accepted it. After Horace announced his belly was full, "When is it not?" Will had asked, they went to the dining room.

Once they had finished eating and returned to the dining room, Horace asked Gilan why he was with them. At first, Gilan had tried to bluff his way out, but when he realized that the tall and stocky warrior wouldn't give up, he gave in.

"It's about Ivy, isn't it,"Will said quietly. Gilan nodded.

"Who's Ivy?" Horace and Cassandra asked.

"Gilan's first and only apprentice," Halt said gruffly, "Now leave him alone. It's a touchy subject for him."

Catching Halt by surprise, Gilan shook his head.

"No Halt, I thinks it time I've told someone besides you. I've kept it in me too long."

"Fine, but don't blame me if you break into tears like you did the last time you told this story."

Gilan shook his head again. "Don't worry, I wont. Besides," he said smiling at the princess, "royalty is here. I can't embarrass myself in front of her."

"It happened a few years after I had left Redmont," he began. "I was wandering the countryside of Meric Fief, hoping for some commotion. Apparently, I was lucky because just then I heard some of yell out. I rode Blaze to the farmers and found out that a pickpocketer had tried to pickpocket one of the farmers. When he had found out that he had been caught, he tried to run, but I caught him. Except it wasn't a boy, it was a young girl in a boy's clothing. One look at her and you could tell that she wasn't your average theif.

At this moment, Will interrupted."How's that," he wondered, intrigued. "After all, thieves only steal for one reason, to get something without paying."

Gilan shook his head. "You could tell something was different with her. If you looked into her eyes, you could tell that she was driven to steal because of hunger. Her eyes were mad with hunger and her clothes were literally rags. I knew I should have turned her into the Baron, but I couldn't bring myself to.

"Good thing too." Halt said. "She probably had one of the best potentials we had ever seen without ranger training." he paused, then added. "Well, at least after me that is. Still, the whole corps was hit very hard when she left."

"What do you mean by 'she left',Halt?" Will asked, but Halt just shook his head. "That's for Gilan to tell you. Don't worry, he'll get to that part sooner or later. Why don't you continue, Gilan" 

Gilan nodded his thanks and continued. "As I was saying, I couldn't turn her in to the Baron. This was probably the hardest decision I had ever had to make since I had left Halt's cabin."

Halt snorted, but said nothing else.

"In the end, I decided to bring her to my cabin for some questioning and give her some food. Honestly, it looked like in her whole life time, she had only had two real meals. Even though I knew it was impossible, I had actually thought she was homeless."

Will's, Horace's, and Evanlyn's eyes widened. They all knew that it was impossible to be homeless. King Duncan kept a strict rule that all the Barons had to give homes for each of their subjects.

"It was only later that I found out that she was indeed homeless."

"When I brought her to my cabin, the first thing she did was find the closest bed she could, which was mine, and crash. She slept through the whole day and only woke up at dinner time. I was just about to start preparing dinner when she woke up. She came lumbering out of my room and headed for the door.

Luckily, I was smart enough to realize where she was going and grabbed her She tried to get out of my grasp, but I held on. I told her I would let her go after some questioning and some food. She agreed and sat down at the dining table. I asked her what her name was, hoping she was in a good mood because I had realized that if she was in a bad mood, she would just grunt at me. I was lucky, because she told me her name was Ivy.

I tried to ask her something else, but she shook her head and said 'food first.' This was when I realized that she was a very good negotiator. I got the food ready and gave some to her. She cautiously at first, as if checking for poison, then, realizing that she was hungry, she dug in.

After I finished my stew, I decided it was interrogation time.

"So Ivy, where do you live." Instead of answering immediately, like I had expected, she took her time. She gazed mournfully at the fire for a little while before laughing bitterly.

"I have no home." she said. "For as long as I remember, I have lived out on the streets, starving."

I gasped, so I was right, she was homeless.

"What about your parents, surely your parents left you somewhere to live."

She shook her head. "As far as I know, I don't even have any parents. I am a homeless orphan."

By this time, I decided it was pointless asking her any more questions about herself. Instead, I asked, "Ivy, would you like to stay the night."

Again she shook her head, as she replied, "You should know that you're not the first person who has asked me that. I should also tell you that every time I stay overnight at someone else's house, something bad always happens to them."

And with that, she was gone.

I sat at my table for a while, contemplating what I had found out. Then I realized that I still had some leftovers. I thought it would be a good idea to give them to her, but when I looked out the door, I couldn't see any trace of her.

When I had looked outside, it was still bright.

That was the first day I had met her."

"Well, what happened after that?" Horace said loudly.

"That's all I'm going to tell you for now," Gilan said.

"What," Will cried, "But it was starting to get interesting."

"No, Will. He can tell us more tomorrow." Halt said gruffly, his face saying that this was final.

"Fine," Will said. He turned to Gilan. "Her story is very interesting, you know. Gilan nodded. "Thank you Will, just if we meet her, don't tell her that. She has some anger management issues that are hard to keep down."

Will nodded. "OK, Gilan."


End file.
